Students Voting

Students Voting 2022 Handbook

Students Voting 2024 Handbook will be posted this fall.

Resources for Teaching the Election

The CYV team has pulled together a host of nonpartisan lessons, resources, educational tools and hands-on activities for K-12 students that support state benchmarks and encourage the development of civic knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors. If you don’t see what you need for a particular lesson or theme, let us know!

An election is much more than voting on Election Day, and teachers work to answer the questions around being civically engaged: How do I know what the offices are, and who is qualified to hold them?  How do I decide what side of a question or position to take?  How can I get my voice heard by those making laws and policies?  Why should I vote, and what does one vote matter anyway? 

Some of our favorite Lessons on Elections help teach about voting, democracy, civic life, elections, civic responsibility, and the importance of participating in the political process.

PBS NewsHour Extra has developed lessons focused on Down-Ballot Voting and the Role of State and Local Elections to help with the reminder that it isn’t all about one race.

iCivics.org has also developed lessons focused on state and local governments.

A Teaching Framework that outlines the concepts and content included in each Minnesota Social Studies/Government Standards by grade, as well as links to online resources and lessons.

A list of Helpful Websites suggested by educators from across Minnesota

A Book List for Educators to get kids election ready and civics-savvy.

A list of Election-Year Guiding Questions to help start, maintain or deepen classroom lessons or discussions.

Post-Election Reflection Activities to guide students in reflecting about what they’ve learned during the election process and how they feel about the election results.

This page is maintained by the YMCA Center for Youth Voice. Links to other internet sites are provided for informational purposes only. The YMCA Center for Youth Voice is in no way responsible for the content of these sites and their presence on this page should not be construed as an endorsement.